White Lies have just sold out their first headline show of their careers so it’s a night of mixed feelings in Manchester for the soon-to-be enormous trio from London.

Just before they head out on stage, lead singer Harry McVeigh tells FemaleFirst that heâs suffering from a horrible cold. Not that youâd notice mind, the band tear into opener âFarewell to the Fairgroundâ with enough vigour to belie their relative infancy.

Itâs a rousing anthem, with a hook that will throttle until you surrender to its majesty âKeep on running/Thereâs no place like home/No place like homeâ.

Wholly dressed in black, White Lies barely pause to speak apart from the cursory âthank youâ and to remind the crowd of the merchandise on sale at the back. However with songs as huge as âFrom The Starsâ and âE.S.Tâ weâll more than forgive them.

This isnât just a normal sweaty gig though- for those lucky enough to be inside tonight, this is a spectacle to behold.

Previewing tracks from forthcoming album âTo Lose My Life or Lose My Loveâ (scheduled for release in January 2009) they rattle through a number of sure-fire hits with sincerity not seen since âThe Back Roomâ.

Imagine The Killers going out on all night bender with Ian Curtis and then you might be relatively close to the pounding beauty of âDeathâ. Whether itâs the propulsive drumming, the keyboard squelches or the guitar stabs that transcend this from being just another Joy Division-lite tune, their trump card lies in McVeighâs earnest vocals.

Every grain of emotion is wrung out of both song and audience, and that is only the second best single of 2008.

This yearâs premier release was called âUnfinished Businessâ and itâs a privilege to hear it in such intimate surroundings. Picking up where Arcade Fireâs âInterventionâ left off, all haunting church organs and widescreen melodrama, itâs a heartfelt paean to a lost loved one; âA requiem played as you beg for forgiveness/donât touch me I screamed/Iâve got unfinished businessâ.

For the uninitiated it may sound bombastic and ridiculous but if you allow it, thereâs a brain-haemorrhaging intensity that will undoubtedly be the war cry of the disenchanted come January.

Itâs in the lyrics where White Lies eclipse any other pretenders on the scene, think Editors jamming with Brandon Flowers whilst some Echo and the Bunnymen play in the background. Astonishing.

Itâs terrifying to think that this is White Lies not at full strength, what is more terrifying is the inevitable ticket scrum when the next tour is announced.